Quality Time spent with Senior Multi-Media Journalist Venkat Narayan who travelled countries across Globe, And in the company of Seven Intellects : By Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

 Quality Time spent with Senior Multi-Media Journalist

Venkat Narayan who travelled countries across Globe

And in the company of Seven Intellects

By Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

November 21, 2025

Indian tradition and etiquette graciously remind us that, it is always a matter of good manners to respond to an invitation from a visiting friend, especially when it is intended for a warm social engagement. Even when prior commitments make it difficult to participate, it is only courteous to convey one’s inability, particularly in these times of abundant and effortless communication options. For more than five decades, whenever S Venkat Narayan visited Hyderabad, his preferred abode was the Heritage Building Room at Abids Taj Mahal Hotel. During each visit, he would invite friends he could connect with for a simple and delightful social gathering, filled with engaging discussions on diverse current affairs, sprinkled with knowledge and overflowing with wisdom.

I had the privilege of attending most of these meetups. One such interaction took place on November 17, 2025, Senior Journalist K Ramachandra Murthy and I could join. It turned into a memorable evening with stimulating exchange of thoughts. We later agreed that I host a follow-up gathering at my residence, because, it is equally meaningful to reciprocate such warm gestures, especially when the visiting friend is a person of immense knowledge, experience, and insight. In such instances, it becomes even more rewarding to host a small, congenial group of like-minded individuals to enrich the conversation and create lasting memories.

The visiting friend in this instance is the erudite and independent multi-media journalist, Venkat Narayan, born in the remote village of Kamalapur (Telangana). Now aged 82+ and brimming with life experiences, to his credit he interviewed Presidents, Prime Ministers, Kings, and Globally Renowned Statespersons, including Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. He travelled extensively across the globe, gathering experiences and insights that have enriched his writing and perspective.

Friendly gatherings offer a wonderful platform for sharing personal experiences, exchanging ideas, agreeing to disagree, and reflecting on philosophies and concepts. They help in reminisce shared memories, offer feedback and feedforward on contemporary social, political, and economic issues, all of which may serve as meaningful guidance to society. In fact, conversations like these often sow the seeds for documenting rare, insightful, and untold real-life stories for future generations. Against this backdrop, a truly vibrant and enriching get-together took place at my residence in Srinagar Colony on the evening of November 20, 2025. The evening was marked by a simple dinner, heartfelt conversations, and joyous camaraderie, all in honor of spending quality time with Venkat Narayan.

In his illustrious journey, Venkat Narayan had worked with The Times of India, The Sunday Times, London, and The Boston Globe as a guest writer. He was also associated with Onlooker magazine before being invited by Aroon Purie, Founder-Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of the India Today Group, to join India Today as Executive Editor. Today, he continues to contribute prolifically to national and international publications. He is presently completing his upcoming book, a biography of Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

Among those who joined the dinner were respected journalists, academicians, policymakers, and creative professionals, each contributing to the evening’s spirit of learning, admiration, and lively dialogue. Their presence added depth and warmth to the gathering, making it intellectually fulfilling and emotionally uplifting.  

Besides Venkat Narayan, other six honored invitee guests who joined the dinner at my residence are: Former Telangana Media Academy Chairman and Senior Journalist Allam Narayana, Former Editor Andhra Jyothi and Senior Journalist Kandlakunta Srinivas (Joined little later by Mrs Sudha Srinivas), Former Editorial Director Sakshi and Senior Journalist Kondubhatla Ramachandra Murthy, Former Telangana Public Service Commission Chairman, Journalist and Vice-Chancellor Dr Ambedkar Open University Professor Ghanta Chakrapani, Former Minister, Former APCCI President Ponnala Lakshmaiah, and Film Maker, CEO Pudami Publications, and Senior Journalist Raja Ramesh.

The conversations gracefully flowed across a spectrum of fascinating topics, including current political landscapes, governance, philosophy, mythology, relevance of ancient scriptures in modern times, prominent public projects such as the Ambedkar statue and Telangana Martyrs Memorial, nuanced analysis of electoral trends, and the fascinating interplay of visible and invisible political alliances. The evening felt like a confluence of wisdom, experience, history, and vision.

Perhaps the most captivating part of the evening, what could be called the natural and splendid Grand Finale, was Venkat Narayan’s vivid narration of some remarkable milestones from his long and illustrious Journalism Journey. He recounted experiences with prominent personalities like Vasanth Sathe, Yashpal Kapoor, Dr N Bhaskara Rao, Aroon Purie, and Prannoy Roy, and shared unforgettable moments from his association with Onlooker and India Today. He recalled how his coverage of the Maharashtra political scenario and to the quote of Indira Gandhi that he carried in Onlooker ‘I shall Come Back.’ He spoke of how this writing caught Aroon Purie’s attention and eventually led to his joining India Today.

He fondly recounted predicting Indira Gandhi’s successful comeback in 1980, drawing historical parallels with Churchill, Napoleon, and De Gaulle, and how Indira Gandhi graciously expressed her appreciation through Yashpal Kapoor by offering him the position of ‘Information Advisor to the Prime Minister,’ an offer he politely declined, choosing to remain in mainstream journalism. He also reflected on his pioneering role in popularizing psephology in India, collaborating with Prannoy Roy, David Butler, and Ashok Lahiri to formulate accurate election projections for India Today, marking a milestone in Indian political journalism.

He further shared his experiences covering Indira Gandhi’s election tour of Medak in 1979, including delightful anecdotes of youthful enthusiasm, including V Hanumanth Rao’s spirited slogan-shouting, and the iconic memory of Indira Gandhi illuminating her face with a portable tube light so that people could see her clearly in the dark.

What an experience-sharing and joint learning evening it turned out to be, enchanting, insightful, and deeply enriching for everyone present. There is something deeply enriching about gatherings anchored in shared knowledge and mutual curiosity. When individuals come together not merely to socialize, but to listen, reflect, and exchange lived experiences, a subtle synthesis of wisdom takes shape. These are not just conversations, but living archives where learning is not instructed but discovered, through stories, perspectives, and meaningful human connection. Gatherings are transformed into profound shared spaces of thought, warmth, and understanding.

In a democratic society, such engagements quietly serve as laboratories of informal intellectualism. They cultivate empathy, respectful dissent, critical thought, and the humility to understand before being understood, values that no institution can fully impart. When memories of the past converse with the realities of the present and aspirations of the future, they create not just dialogue, but direction. These are the places where collective wisdom begins, not with agreement, but with shared contemplation.

Yet, something may still remain just a shade beyond complete fulfillment, the unspoken promise that such meaningful interactions can evolve further. Their real potential unfolds when these gatherings grow into more deliberate and structured exchanges, where reflections turn into shared insights, and conversations mature into collaborative learning. When they gently transform into informal yet thoughtful brainstorming sessions, they become spaces not only for recalling wisdom but for co-creating it. That is when they truly become more than meetings, and they become Joint Learning.

Perhaps the greatest offering of such occasions is not any single narrative or conclusion, but their open-ended invitation, to continue thinking, sharing, questioning, and discovering together. A reminder that wisdom grows best when it is not merely heard, but explored collectively. And so, each moment of shared reflection softly nudges the participants, and perhaps even the readers of this narrative, with a hopeful suggestion: take the thread from here.

My warmth was graciously complemented with a delightful supper prepared by my wife Vijayalakshmi, supported by our skilled cooks Anitha and Keerthi, whose efforts made the evening all the more pleasant and memorable.